Chapter 40 · Not here

"Not here."

"Why?"

"Because the gate is eating your memories, Celia is yelling in my ear, and you have a knife under my jaw. Pick one emergency."

"You said we were—"

"Mates."

The word hit him like a blow.

His face went still.

"You were my mate," he said.

It wasn't a question.

"You were."

"And I rejected you."

"You did."

"Why?"

My laugh came out rough. "You tell me. You're the one with the missing memories."

The red light flared.

Ronan cried out and folded over the rail. His hand slipped from my waist. The knife clattered against the metal floor and spun toward the flooded edge.

I caught his arm before he fell.

"Mara, let go!"

"Not happening."

"If the contract grabs you—"

"It's already grabbing me."

Heat ripped through my chest.

The covenant under my skin answered the marks on his wrist. Red light crawled over my fingers, burning between our joined hands.

Celia shouted through the speaker. "Mara! Don't touch the wound until I tell you!"

"You said to force a memory link!"

"I said wait! The contract's unstable!"

Ronan's head snapped up. "What did she say?"

"She said you're unstable."

"That's not what she said."